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Dodgers attorney: Bryan Stow may share blame for beating

October 27, 2011 | 4:25
pm

An attorney for Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, defending the franchise against a lawsuit by San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, predicted that a jury will place some of the blame on the brain-damaged victim of the vicious opening day beating.

"I've been doing these cases for 23 years and I have never seen one yet which it didn't take at least two people to tango," attorney Jerome Jackson told ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Jackson did not return calls from The Times seeking comment.

Jackson's statements came after he filed a countersuit against two men, charged with beating Stow earlier this year in the Dodgers parking lot, arguing that they, not the Dodgers, should be held liable for the injuries Stow received.

"One of the things the jury will be asked to do is to determine what percentage of fault various individuals have for this event," Jackson told the website. "You're saying to the jury, 'They [the Stow family] are saying we're 100% liable. But does that mean [Marvin] Norwood and [Louis] Sanchez who beat this guy up, have no liability? And does it mean Mr. Stow himself has no liability?'"

Stow's family sued the Dodgers and McCourt in May, alleging that they failed to take adequate measures to prevent such violence. Stow was recently released from the hospital after spending months in a coma after his skull was cracked and his brain damaged when he was slammed to the ground. Damages could run as high as $50 million, his attorneys estimate.

Jackson compared the Stow case to a suit filed by a woman who lost sight in one of her eyes after being involved in a fight in the Dodger Stadium parking lot in 2005. A jury found her assailant 85% liable for the attack, the victim 15% liable and the Dodgers not liable all.